Obtaining Grace: Locating the Origins of a Tamil Saiva Precept

This dissertation is an analysis of the semantic evolution of the concept arul&dotbelow; through three genres of Tamil literature: classical (can˙kam) heroic and love poetry, and medieval Saiva devotional poetry. I utilize a variety of texts for the project. From the eight anthologies of can˙kam poetry, I translate and analyze poems from the Pur&barbelow;anan&barbelow;ur&barbelow;u, Ain˙kur&barbelow;un&barbelow;ur&barbelow;u, Kur&barbelow;untokai, Akanan&barbelow;ur&barbelow;u (ca. 1st century BCE to 4th century CE). From Saiva bhakti literature, I focus on Man&dotbelow;ikkavacakar's Tiruvacakam . In reading from these texts, I trace the semantic continuity and interruption between the classical secular poetry and the medieval devotional poetry. I argue, among other things, that the cultural underpinnings of the concept remain intact as the term becomes incorporated in the technical vocabulary of Tamil Saivism. The Saiva authors were thus able to develop a new and unique style of religious literature that resonated with the cultural and literary past.